Refrigerators are household appliances for keeping foods refrigerated or frozen to store the foods in a fresh state for a long time. The interior of the refrigerator is partitioned into freezing and refrigerating chambers, and an ice-making device is detachably provided in the freezing chamber.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing the interior of a refrigerator provided with a conventional ice-making device, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the ice-making device provided in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1.
As shown in these figures, freezing and refrigerating chambers 11 and 13 which are vertically partitioned are provided within a main body 10 of a refrigerator. The main body 10 is provided with a freezing chamber door 11D and a refrigerating chamber door 13D in order to selectively open or close the freezing and refrigerating chambers 11 and 13, respectively. Each of the freezing and refrigerating chamber doors 11D and 13D is hinged along a lateral side of the main body 10.
A plurality of shelves 15 and 17 are detachably installed within the freezing and refrigerating chambers 11 and 13. The freezing and refrigerating chambers 11 and 13 are vertically divided by the shelves 15 and 17, respectively. A pair of vegetable boxes 19 are retractably installed at a lower portion of the refrigerating chamber 13. Foods such as vegetable are stored in the vegetable boxes 19.
Furthermore, an ice-making device 21 is installed at one side of an upper portion of the freezing chamber 11. The ice-making device 21 is used to make ice. As shown in FIG. 2, the ice-making device 21 is retractably installed within the freezing chamber 11. Further, the ice-making device 21 is composed of a support frame 23 and a pair of ice trays 25.
The support frame 23 is formed in a rectangular frame shape. Each of the ice trays 25 is formed with a plurality of ice-making grooves 25A. Support shafts 26 are provided at the centers of front and rear surfaces of the ice trays 25, respectively. The ice tray 25 is supported on the support frame 23 such that it can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise about the support shaft 26 as viewed in FIG. 2. To this end, the support shaft 26 is rotatably inserted into the rear surface of the support frame 23.
A stopper 27 is provided to protrude from the rear surface of the support frame 23 at a certain position thereof corresponding to the left side of the support shaft 26 as viewed in FIG. 2. The stopper 27 allows a leading end of the ice tray 27 to be twisted with respect to a trailing end of the ice tray 25 rotating about the support shaft 26.
A pair of levers 28 are provided on a front surface of the support frame 23 corresponding to the front side of the ice tray 25. The lever 28 is a portion which a user grips to rotate the ice tray 25. The lever 28 is connected to the support shaft 26 provided at the front surface of the ice tray 25.
Referring again to FIG. 1, an ice bank 29 is installed below the ice-making device 21 within the freezing chamber 11. Ice made in the ice-making device 21 is stored in the ice bank 29. The ice bank 29 is also retractably installed within the freezing chamber 11.
A process of making ice using the ice-making device configured as such will be explained as follows.
First, the ice-making grooves 25A of the ice tray 25 are filled with water. The freezing chamber door 11D is opened to put the ice-making device 21 into a predetermined position in the freezing chamber 11. After the ice-making device 21 has been put into the freezing chamber 11 in such a way, the freezing chamber door 11D is closed to close the freezing chamber 11.
Meanwhile, if the water filled in the ice-making grooves 25A is frozen after a certain period of time, the freezing chamber door 11D is again opened to open the freezing chamber 11. If the lever 28 is rotated clockwise as viewed in FIG. 2, the ice tray 25 is twisted. Therefore, the ice made in the ice-making grooves 25A is separated from the ice tray 25 and then stored in the ice bank 29.
However, the conventional ice-making device for a refrigerator has the following problems.
If a user wishes to withdraw the ice bank 29, in which ice made in the ice tray 25 is stored, out of the freezing chamber 11, he/she should pull the freezing chamber door 11D to open the freezing chamber 11. Thus, it is troublesome to put the ice bank 27 into or out of the freezing chamber.
Moreover, when the freezing chamber 11 is opened to withdraw the ice bank 29 out of the freezing chamber, cold air in the freezing chamber 11 is discharged to the outside. That is, in the conventional ice-making device for a refrigerator, cold air in the freezing chamber 11 is unnecessarily discharged to the outside while the ice bank 29 is withdrawn out of the refrigerator. Thus, power consumption of the refrigerator is increased.
Further, the ice bank 29 is accommodated in the freezing chamber 11. Thus, it is likely that ice stored in the ice bank 29 is impregnated with odor of other foods stored in the freezing chamber 11.
Furthermore, in the conventional ice-making device for a refrigerator, water filled in the ice-making grooves 25A of the ice tray 25 is frozen into ice, after a predetermined period of time, due to cold air circulating in the freezing chamber 11. That is, water filled in the ice-making grooves 25A of the ice tray 25 may be splashed out of the grooves due to impact generated when the freezing chamber door 11D is opened or closed. Therefore, the freezing chamber 11 may be contaminated by the splashed water.